Fantasmic Dinner Package, where to eat?

[tammydel]

I'm thinking of doing the Fantasmic Dinner Package 11/9 with my mom and sister. If I have the correct information, they offer 3 restaurant choices: Hollywood & Vine, Mamma Melrosa(spelling?), and Brown Derby. While there are places I know I'd like to be eating (Spoodles, Flying Fish, EPCOT) I'm not sure which of these restaurants to choose. I think we are leaning towards Mamma's (I'll have to learn to spell it!)

This is why I love Disney trips, tough choices to Make!

Thanks for any input.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We like Hollywood and Vine. We were there on a cool January night and the simple comfort type foods were just what we wanted. The buffet was full and fresh and the kid buffet was one of the best we ate at. The fantasmic pass was a bonus as were would have had dinner here even without it.


Jordan's mom

 

[LKS]

We ate at Mama Melrose's and thought it was OK. I'm sure it can be the cheapest if you stick to pizza, and frankly, the pizza was the only thing we liked anyway - oh, and the root beer. My husband and kids all got it because I hate it and never buy it at home and it became a big joke with our server.

Unfortunately it was raining that night and we didn't have our ponchos with us, so we decided to skip Fantasmic anyway.

 

[tampafan]

Mama Melrose is my favorite. The chicken is Fantasmic!

 

[elgerber]

We like Hollywood and Vine too. It's a simple buffet, but the food is good, and it's a great atmosphere for the kids. We tried to do Fantasmic once without the package, and ended up booking the package for the next night, as we couldn't get a seat 90 minutes prior to showtime.

Erika

 

[sha_lyn]

We love MM. The rissoto is wonderful. DS had a shrimp pasta that was great. DH had a good steak, DNi and DD had pizza that they both enjoyed (and DS helped finish) I cna't remeber what DM and DSi had but everyone did enjoy their meals

 

[monte]

Boy that's a tough one. We ate at all three restaurants and enjoyed each meal. I enjoyed the character interaction at Hollywood & Vine, plus the buffet had alot of great choices. The restaurant was upbeat and casual.
The Brown Derby was alittle more formal and had delicious dinner selections. I had the crouper, which melted in my mounth. The restaurant is a bit pricey, I think our bill was over $90. for 2 dinners, aps, desserts & 2 drinks.
Mama Melrose was quiet when we went, infact we were the only ones there. I liked the food,but found it alittle too heavy. I had the seafood primavera (sp?) which was loaded with calamari, mussels, shrimp and clams, and I had the sauce on the side. As I said it was very good, but extremely filling. Personally I don't think you'll go wrong with any of these restaurants. Enjoy yourself!

 

[dulluth]

We just recently returned from WDW, and had our Fantasmic package at H&V and loved it! The selections had something for everybody, including my six year old son, with the kids choices. My husband referred to it as the carnivore special, as the choices included herbed turkey, chicken, pork(with a sweet and sour glaze, but not overwhelming because it was just on the outside), and prime rib...not the best prime rib, but good. It also included great veggie choices and potatos, and the dessert bar was just too much after a good meal...but we did squeeze in a bit! If you choose it, I'm sure you would be able to find something for everyone in your group...oh yeah...they have salad stuff too...for the light eaters. We were very happy with our choice of restaurants and with the package!

 

[tammydel]

Thanks for all the replies.
I just booked the dinner package at Mamma Melrose's.

Just an FYI, the CM said you no longer have to pick up tickets at Guest Services (I guess that it was how it was done before) and that we would recieve our fantasmic tickets when we paid for our meal. I thought my card would be charged when she took the PS on the phone. The CM seemed a little confused also. I have a seperate PS number for dinner and one for Fantasmic.

Anyone else have any recent experience with how Fantasmic dinner packages are being booked and paid for?
Also doesanyone know is this a special menu or the regular menu?

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!

 

[melomouse]

Hi -
We just got back and did the dinner pkg at H & V on Tuesday night, the 29th.Food was great. Server was absent. We made it to the show by the 6:30 entry time and sat in the second row on the Package seating side.
Just wanted to let you know, though, that they made it very clear at Guest Relations at the resort (POR), that if we did not cancel within 48 hours of the ressie, dinner would be charged whether we showed up or not. Also, she clearly stated you must still attend dinner even if it's raining and Fantasmic! will be cancelled. We arrived at 5 PM for our 5:10 PS. People had filled the patio, but everyone was seated I would guess within a half hour or so. They came out before they even took our PS # (at 5:20), that unless you has a PS Dinner Pkg there would be no room.
We were not the only people who felt rushed, poorly "served"(cleared) and got the sense they were emptied out of some items from the character lunch buffet and couldn't wait to close on up as soon as the last Fantasmic guest was out of there.
Of course, we are now in slow season. Food was great. Fantasmic! so well worth everything! Just wanted to let you know that they are pretty pickey about this new Dinner Pkg system. I think there is a minimum of ?dollars at MM and BD, or two entrees or something. You may want to check into this further.
Enjoy!

 

[mitros]

Really not about the restaurant, they are all good in mgm especially brown derby,but does anyone realize that up until a short time ago you did not have to purchase a specific package for a specific amount. All you had to do was eat at one of the restaurants{lunch included, which is cheaper} and ask the waitperson for a pass for fantasmic for each member of yor party. Now, you are forced to spend a certain amount of money, which comes out to more then it used to under the old system.

 

[parrotheadlois]

I agree. I liked the old system better. I think Disney makes a habit of "playing" with its guests. Making people think something's hard to get makes it more appealing. Unless you book in advance, you can't get the Fantasmic seating anymore (like before). We tried this last weekend. So we ate at the ABC Commissary (nothing to write home about), went to Fantasmic around 6, and got excellent seats in the Pocahantas section (right next to the coveted Mickey section). I don't like being manipulated into doing it the Disney way or no way.

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

We did the Brown Derby package in September which I think worked out at $39 per person (I'm not sure about this as dh paid, but I think that's what it was). I can't remember what the kid price was ($12-$15, I think). For this price you got a starter, main course and dessert and a soft drink of your choice. The menu was extensive and the food was excellent. It didn't seem too expensive due to the quality and amount of food. We made the mistake of tipping on top of that price, but it turns out the tip was included. The only gripe I had is that I wouldn't normally order and eat three courses- the food is pretty filling and I'd normally only have a starter and a main or a main and a dessert. It would be nicer to have a choice of a cheaper package with less food. As it was we also had a bottle of wine, which also whacked up the price.

Here's how we worked it- GF concierge made our PS, we called to Guest Services at MGM where they swiped our cc and gave us PS slips. The server gave us Fantasmic passes when we finished our meal and we headed to Oscars about 30 mins before the show started. We ended up sitting in the witches section, but the views were fine.

I do think it was worth it, especially when I saw the huge volume of people already seated by the time we arrived.

Fantasmic is spectacular and not to be missed.


Joanna

 

[cd&kids]

Good choice, Tammydel....Mama Melrose is our favorite. Good pizzas....good chicken....very good minestrone soup. And a nice atmosphere. Enjoy!!!

 

[mitros]

Yeah, parrotheadlois, I agree. Disney does a lot of manipulating and charging for things they did not charge for before. One of our pet peeves is this business of roping off prime sections of world showcase for groups to watch illuminations! These tour or business groups get these special spots which were once available to anyone that purchased an admission to epcot. We all paid for our tickets, why are we denied these special spots? Should be first come, first served!